TEXAS TOY MAN

Matchbox – British European Airways Coach 1958

We just talked about how Hot Wheels manufactured toy vehicles other than their well known Hot Wheels cars,, i.e, fire engines, trucks, ambulances, airplanes, etc. to appeal to another market. The people at Matchbox were no different. They too manufactured toy vehicles with the same thoughts in mind – appealing to as broad a market as possible.

To this end, in 1958 Matchbox issued the British European Airways Coach #58A manufactured to appear to be a double-decker. (Here in the states we would call it a bus). It should be noted that some of the coaches came with variations of the decal affixed on both sides. Some had the BEA logo, some had the logo with the complete name spelled out.

The coach pictured here has the following features:

• Blue metal body
• “British European Airways” decals (full name)
• Gray plastic wheels
• Embossed bottom with:

BEA Coach

Made in England

by Lesney

No. 58

This type of Matchbox toy was painted, and as such, unless you can find one MIB or one that has been sitting on a shelf for many years, you’ll find the paint will have chips. Also, the BEA coach that has the decal with British European Airways spelled out is one of the most difficult to find out in the collection market – and will typically have the most value.

The Corgi ‘Superman’ Supermobile

The Corgi Supermobile was introduced in the late 1970s. There were two (2) different variations of this ‘two-fisted’ Superman model produced. These models were

1.  Supermobile Junior

2. Supermobile 1/36 scale

In an attempt to compete with Hot Wheels and Matchbox- the most popular car being manufactured at this time – Corgi quickly dropped the ‘Junior’ from the Supermobile Junior name to make the car more appealing to collectors. This effort – along with some other marketing efforts – did increase their sales; however, Corgi was never able to achieve the mass market appeal of Hot Wheels and Matchbox.

The Superman Junior pictured above has the following characteristics:

• Blue diecast body
• Red plastic interior
• Red ‘two-fisted’ sluggers (button activated)
• Superman logo on front of car
• Diecast skids (no wheels)
• Clear plastic cockpit (fixed)
• Made in Great Britain embossed on bottom
• DC Comics embossed on bottom
• Corgi Supermobile embossed on the bottom
• Length: 3 inches

The Superman Supermobile was one of Corgi’s more popular cars – both the Junior and the 1/36 scale. However, because the company was in transition to the 1/36 scale models and made many package changes to compete in the diecast market – it should be noted that the larger version of this car, i.e., the 1/36 scale model which was identical to the Junior – was the most popular and as such was more valued.

One final thought, the Superman Supermobile is a unique diecast toy in that it has a button mechanism. This button mechanism – located on the rear of the car- when pushed would cause the ‘two-fists’ to deploy. This novel action was a great attraction to the market – young and old – making it a fun toy.

Monkeemobile by Corgi Juniors

While there is quite a bit of information available for Corgi toys in general, there is very little information out there on the Monkeemobile made by Corgi Juniors. This car is from the television show of the late 1960′s and is a replica of the car driven by the four (4) members of the band in the show. For those that may not remember that particular group they had several songs that were quite popular and as such merchandising of items with their name became popular.

The Monkeemobile Corgi Junior had a catalog number of 1004 along with the following features:

• Red with white top
• Four figures inside car
• One year production – 1971
• Wheel – dark grey hub with black tire
• Length: 3 inches
• Open engine
• Clear plastic windshield
• ‘Made in Great Britain’ embossed on base
• Monkeemobile guitar logo on base
• Corgi Junior embossed on base

With the open engine and with actually having figures inside the car, along with the limited production, you can imagine that in today’s market it is very hard to find one in mint condition.

As in most cases concerning popular items, there were a few knock-offs produced that looked like the Corgi Junior in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the Monkeemobile and it’s collector value – so beware if you purchase one of these cars. Inspect carefully before buying making sure the car you buy has all of the listed features.